Just a place for me to write down some thoughts and maybe get some feedback... maybe not.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Learning How the Other Half Lives

On Sunday the person in charge of our denomination's region came to worship with the church. He was invited. I knew he was coming. This is his first Call on the denomination's administrative side of things having served for a few decades in parish ministry.

As we were walking down the hallway I stopped to introduce him to some of our Sunday School teachers and as were about to walk away one of them remarked to me, "You need to stop losing weight, look at you." The rest said similar things and I thanked them and made some comment about how it is all in how you wear your clothes (this is true - I have lost relatively no weight).

After we were safely outside he said, "You know I have often heard female clergy say that they are treated differently but I have never seen it quite like that. They would have never said that to a male."

I just smiled and nodded my head and told him that is exactly why I don't wear earrings.

Worship was a bit different in that as I began to preach I was 'interrupted' by God and sermon time was really a skit I had written. The role of God was played by my father bellowing in his Jewish, Brooklyn accent into a microphone in the back of the Sanctuary. The critics LOVED it! Young and old raved about what a great job my Dad did and they are right. He was perfect for the part.

Hopefully a healthy percentage of folks took home the real message which was that our Sunday School this year has a lot to offer every age. I think most of them will although I am not quite sure what one young woman will take from it since at the back door as she was shaking my hand she said:

"How convenient for you. Since you were interrupted like that now you can just use the sermon your wrote for today next week."

The words are not exact, but indeed that is what she meant. Worse is that I was in cheery-pastor-shake-hands-small-talk mode so I think I kind of laughed and shook my head in the affirmative. It was as she was walking out the door that I realized what she said.

The two best comments made in the receiving line at the back of the church I've heard were "Wow Pastor! If I'd known your sermon was going to be that good, I'd have invited my neighbor!" and "Pastor, did you know there are 216 panes of glass in the window behind the pulpit?" Parishoners, gotta love 'em.

Oh yeah, pcit someone made the comment at the picnic afterwards that it must have been a good week since I didn't have to write a sermon... they kind of trailed off their thought though so I think they realized as they were saying it that I probably wrote the skit.

Anonymous I have had the # of ceiling tiles proclaimed to me at the back door. Humbling to say the least.